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Doodles and squiggles aren’t wasting time at all – in fact they can kick start creativity and imagination. Most of all, doing them can be lots of fun!

It was by drawing cartoons that Norwegian artist Øistein Kristiansen got started on his path. One day, his dad saw him drawing and remarked on how good the illustration was. Øistein was thrilled with the praise and knew he wanted to dedicate his time to doing what he loved the most.

In his early days, Øistein would draw caricature cartoons of people on the street. With hard work, he began working as a cartoonist for newspapers and magazines, including Vogue, Elle and Mad Magazine. Øistein later began a career in television, where he hosted his own show, and he has recently become a YouTube star.

Not only does Øistein draw cartoons, but he is also very crafty, constructing creatures out of cardboard boxes and fashioning animals of any objects that he can get his hands on. His advice to kids is to just start making things with their hands, and, once they start, their creativity will be unlocked!

Finn:
Hi. I’m Finn. And today, we’re talking to Oistein. He’s a TV presenter and cartoonist and I hope today he will teach me how to be creative. Let’s go and meet him.

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Finn:
Hello, Oistein. Nice to meet you. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do?

Oistein:
I’m a cartoonist. I’ve been drawing all my life, and my big goal in life is to teach all the kids in the world how to draw.

Finn:
Have you ever done different art and not cartoons?

Oistein:
Yeah. I’m a multi-artist. So, you know, I paint. I sculpt. I make things out of boxes and have many different styles of drawing.

Finn:
Do you ever draw self-portraits or portraits of people?

Oistein:
All the time. Yeah. I started doing self-portraits when I was really small and I kept on doing it because when you need the model, right, the easiest model to grab is yourself. You just put a mirror in front of you and then you just go, go, go on drawing. So, you’re always available. That’s why it’s so easy to do self-portraits.

Finn:
What do you feel when you’re doing a cartoons and drawings?

Oistein:
Well, I feel happy. I feel great. But, of course, it doesn’t mean that everything is just fun, fun, fun all the time.

Finn:
Yeah.

Oistein:
You know, when you draw, it can be hard. You can run into problems and you have to really squeeze your brain and it can be tiring. So, yeah, I’m not saying it’s perfect all the time, but most, I feel very happy when I draw.

Okay, Finn. My next super drawing trick is draw with two hands at the same time. Do you think you can do that?

I am gonna draw the shape of your head first. Okay. There. Then, I put in the nose, ’cause the nose is in the middle of your face, so look at me. Look at me.

Your nose is a bit like – a bit like that. Under your nose is your lovely smile. Give me a big smile now, Finn, please. Yeah. Oh, even bigger.

Yeah. Your biggest – yeah. Oh, yes. Okay. So, first, up like that and then I go down and I open up the smile like this and I put in the teeth.

Let me see. Oh, you have lovely teeth there. I’m gonna exaggerate them there a bit as well. I hope that’s okay with you. Yeah.

There. And there. Lovely teeth. To the ears. Let me see.

Let me have a look at your ears. So, what do you think? Do you think your ears are big or small?

Finn:
Medium.

Oistein:
They’re medium, but they – they stick out quite a bit. But actually, they’re medium sized, but I’m just pulling them out for fun effects, you see what I mean? It’s important to have fun when you draw. You’re much more hands on than this, but this was just a demonstration of the technique. Now, are you ready to try?

Come on. Oh, cool. And then pupils in the middle. Excellent. And eyebrows.

Very good. Oh. I can fly. Excellent. That’s really funny.

You are born now a fully trained cartoonist. You passed the test. A+.

Finn:
Why do you prefer art than any other career?

Oistein:
I can’t stop myself, you see? I can’t stop it. It’s like it’s something inside of me that have to come out.

Finn:
How did you start doing art?

Oistein:
For me, it was a natural thing. You know, just probably being three years old, grabbing a pencil and just started, and then, from there on, I just couldn’t stop. Good feedback. You know, getting compliments is very important. Being encouraged.

And I remember, one day, you know, I had done this drawing over this face, and my dad came back from work and he said to me, “Who drew that?” And I said, “Why, me.” “What? Did you draw that? That looks like it’s, you know, it’s done by a professional.”

And for me, that was like, “Wow.” That was a big compliment and I felt very encouraged to continue. So, you know, it’s like something you start with and something that is very natural for you. And when somebody then encourage you, then that really puts you on the right path, you know?

Finn:
What advice would you give to kids?

Oistein:
My biggest advice, as always, is start drawing. Just get on with your drawing. And number two advice is start making things as in like, use your hands, your body – start making things. ‘Cause if you do those things, you get your ideas out. All the ideas you have in your head – they come out.

You know, they come out and you can show them to other people. And that’s when you start this process of being a really creative person.

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Finn:
What do you think? Does that look like me? It was awesome meeting Oistein and seeing how he does his cartoons. He was a really cool guy, and I really enjoyed it. See ya next time.